Hearthstone
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a free-to-play digital collectible card game (CCG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Announced at the Penny Arcade Expo in March 2013, the game entered open beta in January 2014, and was released in March 2014. Hearthstone is available on Microsoft Windows and OS X operating systems, with iPad, iPhone and Android platform releases planned. Game details Hearthstone is a collectible card game that revolves around turn-based online 1vs1 matches between two opponents, operated through Blizzard's Battle.net. Players can choose from a number of game modes, with each offering a slightly different experience. Players start the game with a substantial collection of 'basic' cards, but can gain rarer and more powerful cards through purchasing packs of additional cards, or as reward for competing in the Arena, and unwanted cards can be disenchanted for arcane dust, which can be used to acquire specific cards through the crafting system. Card packs and entry to the Arena can be purchased with gold, an in-game currency rewarded for completing randomized daily quests and winning matches, or by using real money in the in-game store. Hearthstone is set within the Warcraft universe, with the majority of its characters and cards drawing from existing lore. Matches Each Hearthstone battle is a 1vs1 match between two opponents. Gameplay in Hearthstone is turn-based, with players taking turns to play cards from their hand, casting spells, equipping weapons, or summoning 'minions' to do battle on their behalf. Play may be between two human players, or one player and a computer-controlled opponent. Each player is represented by their chosen 'hero', an important character from Warcraft lore. Each hero represents a particular class, determining the special cards and unique hero power available to them. Each hero has 30 Health - if that number is reduced to zero, the hero is destroyed, and the controlling player has lost the game. The available heroes and classes are Mage (Jaina Proudmoore), Priest (Anduin Wrynn), Warlock (Gul'dan), Paladin (Uther the Lightbringer), Warrior (Garrosh Hellscream), Druid (Malfurion Stormrage), Hunter (Rexxar), Rogue (Valeera Sanguinar), and Shaman (Thrall). At the start of each turn, the player draws a new card from their deck - a collection of 30 cards selected before starting a game. Players can choose to play using one of several pre-assembled 'basic' decks, or one of their own custom-made decks. While most cards are available to heroes of any class, a substantial portion are limited to a specific class, giving each hero their own strengths and unique possibilities. During their turn, each player can choose to play any of their cards, use their hero power, command their minions to attack targets, or attack directly using their hero, if they have a weapon equipped. However, which actions the player is able to take is partly determined by their mana, a resource pool which is refreshed at the start of each turn. Each card and hero power requires the player to expend a specific amount of mana in order to play it, strategically limiting each player's actions. Maximum mana capacity is determined by a player's mana crystals, each player starts the game with 0, and gains one at the start of each turn, until the maximum of 10 is reached at the start of the 10th turn. In addition, the larger mana pools in later rounds allow players to play increasingly expensive cards, opening the game up to ever more impressive moves and powerful abilities. A match is concluded when one or both players has reached zero health, or chooses to concede. Completing a battle will grant each player hero experience (winning earns additional experience) and granting them access to additional cards up to level 10 or golden versions of basic cards past level 10. Each match takes place on a randomly selected battlefield, representing the board on which the game is played. There are currently four possible battlefields: Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Pandaria and Stranglethorn. Each battlefield features its own design and numerous interactive elements, but gameplay is in no way affected or determined by battlefield selection. cards Cards are the main substance of Hearthstone, representing the abilities, characters and effects which each player is able to make use of during the match. There are currently 382 cards in the game, with more planned to be added to the game later through the introduction of expansion packs and 'adventures'. In all game modes except Arena, the player does battle using a deck of 30 cards, constructed from cards in the player's collection. Each deck can only feature two of each card, and only one of each legendary card. Arena play features no such limitations, but requires players to play using a new deck chosen from a series of randomly provided selections. For either type of deck, the construction of a player's deck is a key strategic element in the game, determining which cards are available to them during the course of a match. Each player starts the game with a wide selection of basic cards. Cards of higher rarity can be obtained by purchasing card packs, or as rewards from Arena mode. Card packs and entry to the Arena can be purchased using real money, or gold, an in-game currency earned through completing special 'quests', such as winning a certain number of matches, or dealing a certain amount of damage. Each card pack consists of five random cards, including at least one rare card. Obtaining new cards allows the player to add them to their decks, opening up new possibilities for play and strategy. Players can also use the crafting system to create new cards. The system uses arcane dust to craft specific cards. Arcane dust can be obtained as an Arena reward, or by destroying existing cards, allowing players to convert unwanted cards into more desirable options. The crafting system was created as an alternative to the player card trading prevalent in trading card games such as''Magic: The Gathering'', with no plans for cards to be traded between players. Similar to the foils found in physical collectible card games, Hearthstone features golden cards, special versions of regular cards featuring a golden border and unique animations. These cards are far harder to obtain than their regular versions, and cost more arcane dust to craft. Golden cards differ from their regular counterparts purely cosmetically, and are designed to allow players to show off their accomplishments. Category:American